Park Lake Drive

Brett is looking for some places to fish or shoot so we went for a little drive today. We drove down to Clancy to try and find Park Lake. We made it about 5 miles from it and then the roads got way snowy and treacherous. Brett wanted to keep going but luckily for us a man in his big honkin' truck was coming down. He cautioned us to turn around because they almost got stuck. Thank you, Sir! We had to back down the mountain road for quite a while to find a place to turn around. Even though the kids and I were terrified, Brett reminded us that our lives would be BORING without him. [Don't tell him this but he's probably right.]

Despite not making it to our destination- it was a beautiful drive. The rock formations are gorgeous.
We did get to see a Llama. That was cool!
On our way back down, we stopped at a little stream to throw rocks. The kids loved it!

Walk by the Winter Lake

Brett wanted to go for a drive today and check out one of the Helena Lakes (Lake Hauser) in the Winter. It was freezing cold but we went anyways. LOL We're crazy like that!
We stopped by the Two Camps Vista interpretive site which is between the Clark's Bay Recreation Area (day use only) and Devil's Elbow Recreation Area.
The Two Camps Vista is a point where you can see the camps of both Lewis and Clark where they set up camp separately within a mile of this roadside overlook in 1809. 

It was pretty but we didn't last long after the winds picked up. We did collect pine-cones to make Turkeys for Thanksgiving. (We are struggling with the fact we can't get to any decorations this year!) [P.S. We never made Pine-cone Turkeys- what losers! LOL]

Here's part of my cute frozen family at the Vista Overlook:

Water Watchers Fieldtrip

I was asked to be a parent volunteer for Justice's 5th grade Water Watcher's Fieldtrip. It was pretty awesome! We had a lot of fun. It's put on by the Water Quality Protection District of the City of Helena.
We started the morning out with a bus ride up to Rimini Road [2396 National Forest Development Road 218, Helena National Forest] to a campground near the Ten Mile Creek. I believe it's called Moose Creek Campground. It is Beautiful an only about 20 minutes from Helena!!!



The class was divided into 3 groups- Mrs. Siroky took one group, Mr. Gary Burton, from Water Watchers took a group and I took the last group. Each group did a different activity. Then we rotated.
1- Ten Mile Creek Stream Monitoring- Water Quality (The Chemistry of the stream)
2- Ten Mile Creek- Stream Investigations (The Physical Properties of the Stream)
3-Riparian Scavenger Hunt (The Biology of the Stream)

I was in charge of the Scavenger Hunt. We found things like moss with wet feet, horsetails, a leaf bigger than your hand, white and red berries, a root cage, and the bathroom [everyone needed a potty break by the time they got to me. LOL].
Here's some of the things we found:

At the Campsite there was a water pump. You had to have one person pump while one person held up this little lever just so that one person could get a drink. I think it was the kids favorite part!

Next, we headed down the road a bit to a Picnic area for a short hike. They dropped the kids off at different spots along the trail to sit quietly and observe nature. They had to fill out a journal with things like sounds they heard, writing poems about something natural that caught their attention, different textures they could rub on their paper, and drawing a hawk-view map of where they sat. It was neat!

After the hike, they gave the kids some time to eat lunch and goof around at the Picnic area. Then they hopped back on the bus to visit the next place.

Our final stop was to the Helena Wastewater Treatment Plant. Let's just say- STINKY and informative. LOL

Thanks Justice for letting me join you!

Farmer in the Dell

Through Brett's work and also Church, we heard about a fun activity going on this weekend. Because we are Adventurers here in Helena, we took the opportunity to go.
Locals call it the Farmer in the Dell. It's a West Mont Harvest Days Family Fun Day off of York Road. They do it every year. All the proceeds go to help support WestMont. *West Mont is a non-profit charitable organization that has been helping Montanans since 1973. They provide a wide range of services for individuals with disabilities to help them reach their maximum potential.



After parking in a field, we headed to the Pumpkin Patch to get our free pumpkins. The kids were so happy! Not sure they will make it until Halloween but we will have some really cool fall decorations on our porch until then.

We made plans to meet the Payne's out there for lunch. It was great food. There was entertainment as well. All the performers were from West Mont. They were so excited and energetic. So cute! One guy even lip-synced to Elvis. It was a hoot!
We also got to meet several people from the 3rd Ward that knew Brian & Allie. It's a possibility that we could move into that ward so it's good to meet people.

After lunch, we waited in Brett's shadow (we've had some really hot days lately!) to get a Wagon ride. It was short but sweet. Then they let us quickly pet the horses. The kids loved it!

There was a lot of other things to do as well. Bouncy houses, gun shooting, a petting zoo,  pumpkin painting, mini-golf, sack races, face painting, and treats to buy. We divided and conquered several other things before we left. It was so much fun!

Liberty said she thought the face painting looked like something she would like to learn to do. We talked to the lady in charge and she said if Liberty practiced this year, she would love to have her come help next year. That would be way fun! Anyone want to volunteer for Liberty to practice painting your face? LOL

Hike around Spring Meadow Lake

The kids had the day off of school so, we decided to take a trip to Spring Meadow Lake for a walk and a picnic lunch. It was a gorgeous day! There were a lot of people there with similar ideas. We even ran into some Ward members, the Mangums that had come for some lunch at the park. We see people we know all the time. I love that! Unfortunately, we hadn't processed that Spring Meadow Lake is also a swimming hole so we didn't bring any swimsuits. Oh well! Next time.
We decided to take the walk around the lake and find a picnic table somewhere half way around to eat. However, once you pass the first 2 tables then that's it for the rest of the way. Ooops! We had to make the whole trip around before we could eat lunch. We had some hungry, whiney people by the time we finished. LOL But.... the walk was beautiful! We stopped by the fishing dock and even took a few small trails through the trees. We got to see ducks and swans and some geese. We also saw Mount Helena and the Devil's Kitchen (see it in the background of the picture below?) where we hiked the other weekend. So fun!

This following picture looks fake. But it's not! I took it! Doesn't it look like a painting or something? Man! Helena is beautiful!

After our walk all the way around the Lake, we let the kids get their feet wet. They loved it! We will definitely have to bring suits and sand toys next time.

What a fun Adventure!

Hiking Mount Helena

With no house projects to do, we are pretty free during the weekends. So, we are trying to be Adventurous! We want to experience all we can around Helena. (and then be able to persuade people to come visit us with all the cool things they could experience. LOL)

So today, we decided to have Justice take us on the hike that he did with his Scout Group around Mount Helena. It was a little steep and long for our inexperienced hiking family but we did it! We took tons of "breaks" along the way and it took us 3 times longer than it did for the Scouts but it was totally worth it! The views are PHENOMENAL! The Devil's Kitchen rock and cave was one of the kid's favorite things. And we even saw a couple deer on the side of the path. Crazy! Where are we living?? The beauty here amazes me!

Memorial Park

We had heard from a couple people that Helena does free lunch at Memorial Park during the Summer so we looked into it. Turns out that it's only during June and July but the kids and I took our own lunch and went anyways. It's right next to the Last chance Splash Park (and a ice skate rink/warming house for the Winter). It has a huge outdoor stage, lots of Memorials to different wars, and lots of red, white and blue!!! A park for the Seamons, for sure!

It also has an amazing Play Fort for the kids. We ate and then the kids played for a long time! Fun times!

Last Chance Splash Park

During Brett's lunch break today, we went to the Last Chance Splash Park. (http://www.lastchancesplash.com/) We also met the Payne's there. It was perfect weather. We had a blast! Their prices are amazing and there's stuff to do for all ages. So fun!
Here's the Lazy River:

They have 2 different slides. One that is slower and winds around. And the green one that gives you whiplash and a wedgie! I know from experience! LOL

There is also free life jackets, a lap pool, a section to just play in the water,some diving boards and a little Snack Shack. They also have a little Splash Pad area but we never made it over there. What a fun place! Thanks to the Payne's for hanging out with us!

Clark's Bay

Luckily, we made it to Church on Sunday so we could meet a few people. The Ward members were way friendly. In Relief Society, they announced that they were having playgroup at Clark's Bay on Wednesday. It sounded fun so I invited the Payne's to join us and followed Christa (a lady in our Ward) to the Bay.
It was only like 15 minutes away and it was gorgeous! It's located on the north edge of Hauser Lake which is part of the Missouri River. There turned out to be a really large group of people that came. I tried to be brave and meet as many people as I could. It's scarier than I remember. LOL It was a warm day and perfect for playing in a lake. The kids had a great time!